Mavericks QP Blastoff

18 responses to “Mavericks QP Blastoff”

1. 

   jurvetson

   Sep 30, 2008 at 5:07 am

   1-minute Launch Video (airborne footage edited down; it took longer to return than the video run time) and the full size photo

   Upper Stage, Motors & machining, RockSim of flight, upper stage test:

   

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2. 

   pegleg000

   Sep 30, 2008 at 5:43 am

   It looks like this shot was taken within about 4 hours, or so, of SpaceX’s successful orbital launch! Sometimes it just takes 3 practice launches!-) Rumor has it that the SpaceX guys are still celebrating ….

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3. 

   Todd Huffman

   Sep 30, 2008 at 6:25 am

   Q and a P?????!?!?!??!

   Not only is that enormous, but lends itself to outrageous puns!

   You mind you P’s and Q’s!
   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P’s_and_Q’s

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4. 

   Apollo 11

   Sep 30, 2008 at 6:31 am

   That is a thing of beauty!

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5. 

   byomeudentista

   Sep 30, 2008 at 9:12 am

   Great! Remembers me my youth when I played with ESTES rockets.

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6. 

   .schtieF

   Sep 30, 2008 at 11:54 am

   wasnt there a cam and an altitude meter onboard? would be nice to make a pic at apogee

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7. 

   rocketmavericks

   Sep 30, 2008 at 4:38 pm

   Just a quick update, Steve. The nozzle on the Q blew about 2 seconds into thrust, creating the asymmetry that pushed the rocket horizontally.
   All electronics fired as planned, and the sustainer separated at false apogee, snapping the 4000 lbf rated shock cord. We have the nose cone, nose cone avionics and flight electronics and they are functional and under analysis. The sustainer motor section proceeded ballistically, and detonated, creating the huge crater and frag pattern we forwarded in photos. So the rocket performed to specification, but the cracked graphite nozzle failure suggest a new nozzle design for an even bigger rocket next year. problem is that our rockets are getting bigger than we are allowed to fly without additional waivers. Also need a better nozzle design, especially if we build a full scale Redstone.

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8. 

   Todd Huffman

   Sep 30, 2008 at 7:47 pm

   @rocketmavericks Love the analysis. Sounds like you need to get more waivers!

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9. 

   benjiman

   Oct 1, 2008 at 4:34 am

   Holy BALLS

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10. 

    jurvetson

    Oct 1, 2008 at 7:55 pm

    …a visual for Toma/rocketmavericks’ description:

    

    Also, here’s a final test video where Tom detonates the separation charge to make sure the machined aluminum structures will work to separate the booster and sustainer stages of the rocket.

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11. 

    Victor1

    Oct 2, 2008 at 2:14 am

    Its in there somewhere….

    Reply
12. 

    jurvetson

    Oct 2, 2008 at 7:10 pm

    The truth is out there…

    Here’s an even better video from Rockets Magazine…

    Reply
13. 

    jurvetson

    Oct 22, 2008 at 10:45 pm

    RocketsMagazine also has a great video montage of the weekend, opening with this launch… and that camera in the foreground.

    Videos best viewed full screen size.

    Reply
14. 

    jurvetson

    Oct 28, 2008 at 6:32 pm

    A shard of the booster was found at the crater. The "CSI report" from Dick’s return to the site this weekend concludes:

    "We now know that the booster did not separate from the sustainer, and that the booster followed the sustainer right into the playa and left behind a couple of traces of its prior existence."

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15. 

    Adam Is My Name

    Jan 15, 2009 at 1:45 pm

    Nice.

    Reply
16. 

    jurvetson

    Mar 13, 2009 at 5:46 pm

    Just watched a larger project…. with a similar outcome…. and with an automobile as the payload! Crazy Brits…

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17. 

    km6xo

    Jan 7, 2015 at 5:54 pm

    Nice photos Steve.

    Reply
18. 

    fanatical pipe

    Apr 5, 2020 at 1:41 pm

    Watched the way cool video. Brought back memories of 60 years ago when I was making my own rockets. I would love to watch this live sometime!

    Reply